Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Terror Informant Ignites Himself Near White House (washingtonpost.com)

Mohammed Alanssi became aware of reporter Caryle Murphy, who visits the Dar Al Hijrah mosque in Falls Church frequently, as she covers the Muslim community and religion for the Washington Post, and contacted her to tell his story. Listen to an interview with Ms. Murphy from the November 16, 2004 broadcast of NPR's All Things Considered(RealPlayer required).

Published Tuesday, November 16, 2004

"A Falls Church man who worked as a federal informant on terrorism set himself on fire in front of the White House yesterday, hours after announcing his suicide attempt and citing his growing despondency over how the FBI managed his case."

"[Mohammed] Alanssi, who is from Yemen ... recently discussed his work as a federal informant in a series of interviews with The Washington Post."

"Alanssi also alleged that the FBI had failed to adequately protect his role in a sting operation conducted in Germany in January 2003. That led to the arrest of Mohammed Ali Hassan Al Moayad, a Yemeni cleric who is slated to go on trial Jan. 10 in New York on charges of providing material support to al Qaeda ... Alanssi's identity was leaked, along with details of his role, and the case was the subject of a Washington Post story in 2003 and accounts in the Yemeni press. As a result, Alanssi said, his family had been harassed and threatened in Yemen, where Moayad, 55, is a prominent leader in Islamist circles."